Electrocuting rat trap



June 16, 1925.

G. A. MARQUIS ELECTROGUTING RAT TRAP Filed Jan. 1925 wuemtow 1,541,985 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. MARQUIS, OF LEWISTON,

nnnc'rnoou'rme RAT Tau.

Application filed January 3, 1925. Serial no. 344.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, Gnonon A. MAR UIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lewiston, in the county of'Androscoggin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electrocuting Rat Trap, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rat traps and has for its primary object to provide a simple and efficient means for electrocuti ng a rodent when the latter attempts to remove bait from the'trap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rat trap of the above mentioned character, which will at all times be positive and efficient in its operation and furthermore will not necessitate the resetting thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrocuting rat trap of the above mentioned character, which is simple in construction, inexpensive, strong and durable and furtheImOre adapted for the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a top plan embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section, and

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the upper plate and the contact ring and the semi-spherical pivot head carried thereby.

In the drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 1 designates the base which is formed of any suitable insulated material preferably wood. A circular metallic plate such as shown at 2 is supported on the base 1. A contact ring 3 is supported'on the metallic plate 2 and is insulated therefrom as illustrated at 4.

A complementary circular metallic plate 5 of a diameter less than the diameter of the aforementioned metallic plate is supview of the trap ported above the metallic plate 2. A contact ring 6 which is adapted for cooperation with the contact ring 3 is secured on the bottom face of the plate 5 and is insulated therefrom as illustrated at 7 A subtransformer 13 is connected to the and 15 respectively.

stantiallysemispherical pivot head 8 is carried by the upper ,"metallic plate 5 and is disposed below the insulating member 7.

The pivot head 8 rests in a suitable opening provided therefor in the insulated member 3 whereby the metallic plate 5 and the contact ring 6 carried thereby is tiltably supported with respect to the lower contact ring and the lowermetallic plate. A coil spring 9 is secured at its upper end to the bottom of the pivot head 8 and its lower end is secured in the lower portion of the central opening 10 trated at 11.

The purpose of the coil spring 9 is to normally support the upper plate and the contact carried thereby in a righted position so that the contact rings will be normally spaced from each other and the circuit thus broken. 4

A switch of any conventional construction such as is shown generally at 12 is supported on the base 1 adjacent the lower metallic plate 2. A transformer or induction coil of any well known construction is also supported on the base 1 and is indicated at 13. The plates 2 wires 14 The contact ring 3 is connected to the switch 12 through the medium of the wire 16 and the wire 17 for the and 5 through the medium of the connection between the transformer 13 and" the bait from the holder or hook 18, the front legs of the rodent will naturally rest on the upper plate 5 while the hind legs will rest on the lower plate 2. This will cause the metallic plate 5 to be tilted whereby the contact rings 3 and fi are brought into engagement with each other, thus completing the circuit and causing the rodent on the trap to be electrocuted. As the use of a transformer is well known, it is not thought necessary to further go into detail relative to the same. After the clectrocuted rodent has been re moved from the trap, the spring 9 will re turn the upper plate 5 and contact 6 to their normalpositions whereby the circuit will again be broken. It will thus be seen from the foregoin description, that a trap has been provide for electrocuting rodents such as rats, mice and the like which will at all times be positive and efficient in its operation and will not necessitate the employment of any manually operated means for setting or releasing the trap.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A rat trap comprising an insulated base, a bottom metallic plate supported thereon, an upper metallic plate, a semispherical head carried by the upper plate and cooperating with the lower plate for tiltably supporting the upper plate on the lower plate, contacts carried by the opposed faces of the respective plates and insulated therefrom, said contacts being normally spaced from each other, and adapted to be lower plate, contacts carried by the opposed faces of the respective plates and insulated therefrom, said contacts being normally spaced from each other, and adapted to be brought into engagement with each other when the upper plate is tilted, means for returning the upper plate to its normal position, said means comprising a coil spring secured at its upper end to the bottom of said pivot head, said spring extending through the lower metallic plate and being secured at its lower end in an opening provided therefor in the base.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GEORGE A. MARQUIS. 

